Drunken Fish Civilian Installation, LTT 14976 - 3306-05-16 8:37
Dwayne Roberts chewed on the last of his breakfast and washed it down with a swig of light beer. The mycoprotein empanada was good: savoury and a little spicy. It was filling and cheap, too, which was another plus. He had some credits, but his Imperial Eagle wasn't cheap to maintain, and it was a little too small to take down the really big scores. Besides, he was saving his credits for a Mark 4 Viper. With that he would be able to go after the bigger ships with the high priced cargo. He might even travel to Tewanta and see about ambushing the Low Temperature Diamond miners. That was the type of score that set a guy up for life. Dwayne was the only customer in the bar at this time of the day. It was just him and the barman, Antonio. The latest synth music played quietly in the background: it incorporated samples from an attack on Preuss Terminal in Di Jian, and Dwayne thought that that was badass, though he didn't believe the stories that aliens had attacked the station. He liked this place: the food, the beer, and the music, all spoke to him. He filled a niche here. While many of the more experienced pilots didn't give him the respect he felt he deserved, a lot of the younger pilots knew him as the Dread Pirate Roberts and that made him smile. Here was a place where he was respected, and even feared. Few people would dare cross him here. There was that slanty eyed bitch from Tewanta, with her hand cannon, about two months ago. She was hanging about messing up hiring for a big job and she stared him down until he lost his nerve when he told her to get lost. She wasn't there when he came back later in the evening, and she hadn't been seen since, so he must have scared her off too.
Dwayne ran his fingers through his green mohawk and took another sip of his beer. He was wondering if he should pester The Owl for some leads on easy targets in the neighbouring systems when a stranger walked into the bar. The stranger didn't strut and didn't swagger, but walked with a smooth comfortable gait, that expressed confidence. The stranger was a young man, barely twenty, by the looks of him. He was stylishly and expensively dressed. He wore a real leather flight jacket over a good quality flight suit and a thin woolen skull cap on his head. The natural fibers and real leather reeked of credits. Dwayne took an instant dislike to the man. The young pilot walked to the bar and ordered coffee and empanadas. Antonio turned to fill a bulb with coffee and put four empanadas on a small plate, while Dwayne walked up to the bar.
"Hey, Roberts! Play nice! I have just cleaned up the floor. If I have to do it again before the evening, I'll be pissed.", Antonio said, as he placed the empanadas and coffee in front of the young stranger. The young man raised his eyebrows briefly, and smiled a quizical smile before picking up his coffee.
"Yeah, yeah Antonio!", Dwayne said, as he sat on the stool on the right hand side of the stranger. He leaned on the counter and stared at the stranger. The stranger picked up an empanada with his left hand and took a bite. He washed it down with coffee from the bulb in his right.
"Thank you kind sir, the coffee and food is quite satisfactory.", said the young stranger. "Could I enquire whether this establishment's entertainment system has the song, 'Whistling at Midnight', by The Undertaker?"
"It might do", replied Antonio, folding his arms. "How did you hear of The Undertaker?"
"My friend El Oso recommended him to me. He said he would be quite to my taste.", replied the young man as Dwayne scowled beside him.
"Your friend, El Oso? Really? How did you get to know El Oso? He's not an easy man to befriend."
"I broke one of his ribs in a fist fight.", replied the stranger.
Antonio raised his eyebrows in surprise and paused to consider things for a moment. "I'll go into the back room to check on that song for you.", said Antonio, casting an anxious glance at Dwayne as he turned to walk towards the door behind the bar.
When Antonio had gone, Dwayne drew a ten centimeter dagger from his belt and examined the blade. "Funny accent. Where are you from?"
"LP 100-56", replied the stranger.
"To me your accent sounds posh. You have posh clothes, too. I am thinking you are rich."
"If I was rich, I wouldn't be eating mycoprotein empanadas.", the stranger replied in a flat tone, taking a bite out of his second empanada.
"I don't believe you. I think you should give your new friend, Dread Pirate Roberts, a 'loan' of a thousand credits. Bad things can happen to people in this place when they don't have good friends."
The stranger ignored him and took another bite from his empanada.
"I could stab you", snarled Dwayne.
"Possibly", replied the stranger. "On the other hand, you are ignorant with respect to the Laws of the Knife"
"Do I look like the type of dipshit that gives a frakk about any laws?", roared Dwayne, his temper boiling over. "Transfer a thousand credits to me now, or I will gut you. Antonio won't protect you!"
"They aren't laws of jurisprudence. They are more like laws of nature. For example, the 'First Law of the Knife' is that the knife should be felt and not seen."
"You talk crap! Quit stalling or I will cut you! Not knowing me will get you no mercy!"
The stranger launched the coffee bulb at Dwayne's head with a deft, lightning fast flick. Startled, Dwayne slipped off his stool and jabbed at the stranger's face with his dagger, but the stranger's throw had transitioned in to a block with the forearm and easily deflected the knife away. The stranger pivoted and slammed his left palm into Dwayne's elbow as his right hand turned over and grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the knife. This would have locked the arm, and possibly dislocated the elbow, of an inexperienced fighter. However, Dwayne was good enough to avoid the full arm lock and he resisted the stranger by pulling back his knife hand. He intended to transfer the knife to his left hand and gut the little asshole. Dwayne met no resistance to his pull. Instead the stranger pushed has hand back towards his face, while at the same time yanking on Dwayne's elbow with his left hand hard enough to throw Dwayne off balance. Dwayne stumbled and his shoulder hit the bar hard. The stranger re-positioned himself so that Dwayne was between him and the bar. He moved his left hand to also grab Dwayne's knife hand and wrenched the point of the dagger around to point at Dwayne's throat.
"The second Law of the Knife", said the stranger, "is that in a fight, the knife is neutral. It is equally happy to kill its wielder as that man's opponent."
The stranger put his entire body strength behind the knife and Dwayne was powerless to prevent the point piercing his throat. Dwayne tried to scream, but gurgled instead. When the point of the dagger hit Dwayne's neck vertebrae, the stranger pounded on its pommel with his right palm. The point slipped along the vertebra, cut a carotid artery, passed out the back of the neck, and embedded itself in the bar counter top. The stranger stood back examined himself and sighed when he saw the blood splatter on his forearms.
Antonio returned from the back room and stared in shock at the scene in front of him for a few seconds. The stranger looked at him uncertainly, and subtly shifted into a ready stance.
"Ehm, The Undertaker wants you to have this.", Antonio said, proffering a data chip. "It contains details of how to contact him through the Data Brokers as well as a retainer payment. So, you really do know El Oso. Did you meet him in prison?"
The stranger nodded and accepted the data chip, relaxing out of his combat stance. "Yes. My family abandoned me there after I failed a mission and our fortunes turned sour in the war. I have recently been released on a technical point of law, due to the intervention of an unknown third party."
Antonio nodded and sighed. "Well, I guess I better get the mop."
"Gentle sir, I can assist. The moon nearby has deep canyons where I can dispose of the body. I doubt this creature will even be missed."